Grrr.....Big Chip in Bike Paint...

[ReneeLynne]

OK, so somehow a chip has appeared in the paint on my 6mo-old Specialized Dolce Vita . The chip is about 1/4 inch in diameter and roughly round, and it goes down to the metal of the frame. I think it happened in transit to or during my ride last Saturday. What to do, what to do? If this were my car, I'd go buy some touch-up paint, but I'm not having luck finding any on the Specialized website....the bike is a shimmery teal color, so not an easy match from standard paint colors.

Also, from examining the chipped area, it looks like there were clearly two layers of paint, and maybe one of them was a primer? So don't know what to do about that.

Anyone had this problem? What was your solution?

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DebW]

I'd suspect a manufacturing defect if a 6-month old frame gets a chip like that. Maybe a drop of water or oil on the frame when they painted it. Try taking it back to your LBS and see if they'll honor the warranty. Or complain directly to Specialized. You might get the run-around, since you can't prove you didn't damage it. But it's worth a try.

[Pedal Wench]

Argggh - I lent a bike to a friend of a friend, and it came back to me with deep chips, down to the metal, around the seat tube, just under the seatpost clamp. Not sure what could have caused it, but I guess I should fix it before it rusts (does aluminum rust?) Any tips for touching up the paint?

[mimitabby]

me too. My lovely Bianchi, purchased used has some chips out too.
Would love to know how to purty it up a bit.

mimi

[Kalidurga]

Some folks out there may cringe at this, but.... Nail polish.

I read it's recommendation at a bike forum (not this one) and my bike tech also suggested it. Some colors will be harder to match than others, obviously, but there are a lot of cheapie brands out there with wild shades of blue, green, purple, etc. I've got a few dabs of black and silver on my bike and they really blend well and seem to be holding up fine.

[SadieKate]

Nail polish is excellent as is model paint.

Apply both very sparingly so you don't get a lump.

[mimitabby]

oboy i get to buy navy blue nail polish!

[Pedal Wench]

Well, I've bought some 'celeste' nail polish so my toes can match my Bianchi, so they do exist!

[ReneeLynne]

MMmmmm....shimmery teal for my Dolce Vita then...you're all going to laugh, but now that I think on it I'm pretty sure I actually have a bottle that will match!! Wow....

[Bad JuJu]

Also, when I asked for advice about patching a scratch on my Waterford, the Waterford folks told me I could use paint from those little bottles of enamel they sell for painting models. I found a pretty good match! And some of them come with that tiny brush, just like nail polish.

[Bruno28]

I just use a little bottle of the stuff they use for cars. But then my bike's lovely shiny black so its easy to match.

For light scratches, I use T-Cut.

I use to fall a lot, but not so much recently .

[Trekhawk]

Nail polish is excellent as is model paint.

Apply both very sparingly so you don't get a lump.

Yep I read that somewhere and the guy that recommended it said he just takes his bike along to the shop and gets the cosmetic assistant to help him get a match. So if you ever see a big burly bloke with his bike at the makeup desk you know what he is up to.

[latelatebloomer]

What a coincidence! I just bought a bottle of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails that matches all the crash dings on my bright blue Giant. Typical of latelate - the bike's more likely to wear nail polish than I am.

[bike4ever]

I took my last Lemond Zurich directly into a Michael's to match model paint. No one asked me why I was rolling my bike through their store - I didn't ride it inside. I was able to find some easy to use paint for the scratches before I sold it.

[Bruno28]

Why don't you contact Specialized and ask if they can send you a small container of the paint? (But maybe you've already thought of that.